Saturday, July 24, 2010

"Again the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a dealer in search of fine and precious pearls, Who, on finding a single pearl of great price, went and sold all He had and bought it." Matthew 45-46

In the parable, the man who is a dealer of fine and precious pearls is Jesus Himself. He was not just browsing, He was a person who really understood what it means to find that one single pearl of great price...so He gave all of what He had just to purchase this rare jewel. Could I do that? Could I come across a pearl so rare and so precious that I would give up everything I have just to own it? This is the love of Jesus. What is the meaning of "a single pearl of great price?" In a word, suffering. According to Bible teacher Derek Prince: "It is interesting that all the gateways to the New Jerusalem are made of pearls. That tells us there is no way into the New Jerusalem except the way of suffering. There is no other gateway." Derek further wrote, "As I understand it, a pearl is caused by some kind of irritation in the oyster. It is really the product of something gone wrong inside the oyster." In the processing of pearls for the market, it first has to be brought out of the depths of the sea and carefully removed from within the oyster and later polished to enhance it's natural gleaming beauty. Imagine Jesus holding that one single pearl of great price in his nail pierced palm, looking down at it with His great love, and saying, "It was for you that I paid that price. I gave all I had." This is the love of Jesus. Extravagant Love.